After digesting the implications of how the attack on the U.S. will change our lives, it becomes apparent that it will change the dynamic in the ever fluid situation in the Middle East.  As concerned Jews and supporters of Israel,  we must ask ourselves how will these events affect the ongoing reign of terror in Israel?

 The major point that can be made is that the terror bombings in Israel will from this time forth be linked with the United States war on terrorism throughout the world. As the U.S. seeks coalitions of partners in a war that will be conducted without borders, acts of terrorism all over the world will be in some way linked to the American struggle.

 No more can our government encourage restraint on Israel when they are terror bombed or use the admonition that retaliation only escalates the cycle of violence. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, American policy makers are forced to eat their words.  Pressure will be put on Arafat to take steps to curb the violence. He will be forced to decide whether to risk the challenge from his own forces to a change of policy or risk the wrath of the U.S.  It is conceivable that in order to survive no matter how tenuously, he may feel forced into a corner and break totally with the west and attempts at some negotiated settlement.

 The United States will become increasingly indebted to Israel and they will seek Israel’s unfortunately long held expertise in combating terrorism.  This includes their expertise in tactics, strategies, intelligence, and use of  sophisticated technology in dealing with the threat of terrorism. And certainly the U.S. government will feel the mounting pressure from its own population as it associates terrorism with Muslims and Arabs in general and with the repeated playing of Palestinians rejoicing in the streets in the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings.

 Most importantly, there will become a more clear understanding of the inherent ideological nature of terrorism emanating from the Near East.  It is essentially an anti Western movement. Its followers are alienated from the demands and changes of the modern world.  This alienation has resulted in their focusing on an extreme  religious fundamentalism that hearkens to a less definable and simpler world.  More than anything else, Israel has been viewed by its Arab neighbors as a western intrusion and indeed an extension of western colonialism within their midst. The United States has been viewed as the leader of the  western reassertion through their supposed surrogate, Israel.

 When understood in those terms, the middle eastern conflict is viewed less as a tribal one, and more of part of a rejection of the modern world and its concomitant value system of equalitarianism, democratic inclinations, and universal progress.

 What does this forebode for Israel?  I believe it is still too early to give any definitive answers, but one thing is clear. At some point the threat of terrorism emanating from that region will become negligible. Israel must exist amongst its neighbors. As Israel becomes more and more linked with the west’s struggle against many of its alienated neighbors, Israel will never experience peace in the region.  Their only hope is that an important consequence of this Western struggle against terrorism will result in a strengthening of the hands of Arab and Near Eastern leaders in Iran and  Pakistan against the challenges of their own internal Islamic Fundamentalism as they struggle to bring their countries into the twenty-first century. It is only then that they can fully appreciate all the benefits a modern industrialized country such as Israel can offer. That would bring about a real peace dividend.

 Finally, Israel must forge and solidify its own identity that is compatible with its place in an emerging middle and near eastern world of the twenty first century. It must merge its western origins with its regional character and standing.  As it does so, its own internal divisions between its western and occidental traditions as played out in the splits between its Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions will coalesce into a truly modern Israel well suited for its place as a leader in the region.

 The end result—a meaningful peace built on a solid foundation, not a series of tenuous agreements. Kein Y’hee Ratzon.